{"id":6579,"date":"2026-08-25T16:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T16:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6579"},"modified":"2026-08-25T16:37:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T16:37:30","slug":"woody-allens-new-madrid-set-movie-comes-with-millions-in-public-funding-and-a-few-strings-attached","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6579","title":{"rendered":"Woody Allen\u2019s New Madrid-Set Movie Comes With Millions in Public Funding \u2014 and a Few Strings Attached"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tOver the past two decades, Woody Allen has delivered a string of cinematic love letters to Europe \u2014 from Barcelona to Rome to Paris \u2014 some of them carrying the glossy allure of tourist postcards. His late-career focus on Europe intensified after his already divisive profile in Hollywood took a hit when longstanding sexual abuse allegations resurfaced during the #MeToo era.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Andrew Garfield Opens Up About Playing Sam Altman in \u2018Artificial,\u2019 Says OpenAI Is Doing \u2018Damage to the Soul of Humanity\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tHis next film is taking his European sojourn one step further: Scheduled to shoot from Oct. 5 in Madrid, the still-untitled project is being backed by millions in public funding tied explicitly to showcasing the Spanish capital on screen.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe cast and plot have yet to be announced, though the Spanish press has already begun speculating about whether Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who are based in Madrid (and also star together in Florian Zeller\u2019s Venice-bound psychological thriller \u201cBunker\u201d), could appear in or star in the movie. Both are longtime Allen collaborators and previously starred in \u201cVicky Cristina Barcelona,\u201d which won Cruz the Oscar for supporting actress.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat is known, unusually early for an Allen film, is a considerable amount about its Madrid connection, financing and exhibition requirements.<\/p>\n

\n\tSome \u20ac3 million ($3.5 million) \u2014 $2.9 million after VAT deductions \u2014 is coming through grants from the Madrid Regional Government, announced last October, and Madrid City Council, made public in December.<\/p>\n

\n\tBuilding on that base, Allen\u2019s next film can aim to raise a further \u20ac4 million in Spain through a mix of tax credits ($2.3 million), a grant from Spanish film agency ICAA ($1.1 million) and a first-window TV prebuy ($1.1 million). That would still leave some $5.8 million to $7 million to be raised from international sales, a considerable challenge. Without the Madrid grants, however, Allen\u2019s new film would probably not be made at all.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat public money comes with strings attached. What is striking is how explicitly those conditions have been laid out for a filmmaker who has long prized total creative freedom and has said there can be no humor without freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

\n\tAllen, for instance, habitually settles on the title of his movies only after he has finished editing. Under the terms of the agreement with the Madrid Regional Government, his next film will instead have to include the word \u201cMadrid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFull financing is also contingent on the film premiering at an international festival. Venice could be an option \u2014 the festival, led by Alberto Barbera, is not shy when it comes to courting controversy. The fest premiered Allen\u2019s latest film \u201cCoup de Chance\u201d in 2023, the same year it played Roman Polanski\u2019s \u201cThe Palace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMadrid City Council also said in December that \u201cat least 15% of the film\u2019s scenes will be shot in exteriors, making the city easily recognizable, showing its cultural, architectural and historical facets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tProvisionally titled \u201cWASP 2026\u2033 \u2014 short for \u201cWoody Allen Spring Project 2026\u201d \u2014 the film is produced by veteran Spanish production-distribution outfit Wanda Vision, Allen\u2019s New York-based Gravier Productions and Puerto Rico-headquartered 3SIX9 Studios.<\/p>\n

\n\tPre-production and production will take place in Madrid, while post-production will be split between Madrid and New York, Madrid City Council said when confirming its backing in December.<\/p>\n

Read more OnlyFans Millionaires: Site Says 5,076 Creators Have Earned More Than $1 Million to Date<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWelcome to the new era of screen tourism: Madrid City Council estimates that 79% of the film\u2019s total $11.4 million investment will be spent in the city, generating 1,196 direct jobs and 2,293 indirect jobs.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond the immediate economic impact, screen tourism is estimated to drive some 100 million visits worldwide, with the sector projected to be worth more than $142 billion by 2032.<\/p>\n

\n\tMadrid\u2019s bet on Allen is also growing in scale. The public backing for his next film is twice the \u20ac1.5 million contributed by Catalonia\u2019s regional government and Barcelona City Council to 2008\u2019s \u201cVicky Cristina Barcelona.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAllen has long built films around European cities. In Italy, he made \u201cTo Rome With Love\u201d with Medusa, which fully financed the 2012 film. The movie, which had a reported budget of roughly $17 million and was shot entirely in Rome, also tapped local Lazio incentives. But its financing was not tied to the title.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs reported at the time by Variety<\/em>, Allen initially intended to call the film either \u201cBop Decameron\u201d or \u201cNero Fiddled.\u201d He and Sony Pictures Classics eventually decided both titles were too obscure and settled on \u201cTo Rome With Love\u201d as a homage to the city. The film, starring Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Elliot Page, went on to gross more than $73 million worldwide, including roughly $10 million in Italy, where it opened on 600 screens.<\/p>\n

\n\tMore recently, Allen\u2019s French-language \u201cCoup de Chance,\u201d which had a $17.5 million budget, tapped into France\u2019s international tax credit, which now offers a 30% rebate on eligible spending in the country. The film spent about \u20ac7.5 million in France over 33 shooting days in the Paris region.<\/p>\n

\n\tAllen was, in fact, among the high-profile filmmakers who pushed France to make itself more attractive to international productions. In 2008, he met then-Culture Minister Christine Albanel in Paris as the government was preparing to introduce a new tax incentive for foreign shoots. He told Le Monde that he had considered making a movie in France several years earlier but abandoned the idea for financial reasons.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve always been in love with Paris. In the past, I had a script all ready, but the financial conditions didn\u2019t allow me to make it happen,\u201d Allen told Le Monde at the time.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrance subsequently introduced its first dedicated tax credit for international productions, initially covering 20% of eligible spending in the country.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile news of the Madrid movie\u2019s production start date has leaked in the press, the plot and cast still remain under tight wraps, and key distributors who worked on \u201cCoup de Chance\u201d have not yet been approached.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe may hear about it closer to the AFM, but in any case Woody Allen always likes to keep the script and other details confidential until the last minute,\u201d says one industry insider.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Our Loves,\u2019 Avi Nesher\u2019s Frontrunner for Israel\u2019s Oscar Entry, Boarded by Gersh and Other Angle Pictures (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woody Allen’s upcoming Madrid-set film is getting millions in public funding — but with a few strings attached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5109],"class_list":["post-6579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-woody-allen"],"yoast_head":"\nWoody Allen\u2019s New Madrid-Set Movie Comes With Millions in Public Funding \u2014 and a Few Strings Attached - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Woody Allen\u2019s New Madrid-Set Movie Comes With Millions in Public Funding \u2014 and a Few Strings Attached - 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